An electrical stove typically has an electrical connector along the underside of the stove top to provide electrical connection to the surface burners. The stove top has circular openings into which the surface burners are mounted. The connector is disposed along the edge of the circular area and has a grounding member which is disposed around a housing. Contacts are disposed within the housing in contact receiving channels. The leads from the surface burner are ring shaped and fit within the contact receiving channel and in electrical contact with the contacts to provide electrical connection to the surface burner. The grounding member has tabs which extend forwardly from the housing to provide electrical connection to the ground on the surface burner. The ground plate also has a mounting portion which secures the connector to the stove top and provides a ground connection between the connector and the stove top. The surface burner has a ground contact portion. When the surface burner is mated with the connector, the ground contact portion of the surface burner comes into electrical contact with the ground plate prior to the ring shaped leads coming into electrical contact with the contacts. This is a safety feature which protects the user of the stove.
The connector is mounted below the stove top, so mating of the burner with the connector is done blindly. The typical user of the connector has no indication of how the leads of the surface burner should be inserted into the connector, nor is there an indication of how far into the connector the leads should be inserted. There is no indication that the burner is completely mated. Another problem that exists is that at times the surface burner does not seat property resulting in a tilted burner which can also rattle.
It would be an advantage to have an electrical connector that ensures proper mating. It would be an advantage to have a connector which has a guide member to guide the leads into correct alignment, a stop member to make sure the leads are inserted at the proper position, and a top mounting connector in which the user can see if the burner is properly inserted.